The Mystery Kudo Shinichi Could Not Solve
by TheReluctantSeeker
Summary: If there was one thing Kudo Shinichi loved more than anything in the world, it was the rush of a new mystery waiting to be solved. He was a world famous detective after all, with a reputation of never leaving a mystery unsolved. That is, until he met her.


**The Mystery Kudo Shinichi Could Just Not Solve  
**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan or Case Closed, sadly. If I did, Shinichi and Shiho would have been together already.

Premise: If there was one thing Kudo Shinichi loved more than anything in the world, it was the rush of a new mystery waiting to be solved. He was a world famous detective after all, with a reputation of never leaving a mystery unsolved. That is, until he met her.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Kudo Shinichi loved mysteries.

In his mind, nothing made him happier than solving a mystery since doing so allowed him to find the next mystery to solve.

Who could blame him?

His father was a world famous mystery book author, who started filling Shinichi's mind with the wonders and joys of putting bits of clues and fragments of information together to solve a mystery at a young age. His father also introduced him to the works of Conan Doyle and, most notably, the collections containing the most famous detective in fiction, Sherlock Holmes, who young Shinichi quickly idolized and modeled himself after.

Kudo Shinichi loved solving mysteries so much that he knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up. When the other kids around him were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up and responded with the usual, high paying and luxury lifestyle jobs like doctors, lawyers, astronauts and engineers, Shinichi, without any hesitation, said that he wanted to live the, admittedly modest and somewhat dangerous, life of a detective. In fact, he was so sure of his decision that he declared to the class that he would become the best detective Japan, if not the world, will and would ever see.

Shinichi knew early on that in order to reach his goal of being the world famous detective he dreamt of being, he had to solve every mystery that came his way. He had to create a reputation for himself as the detective that could solve any crime, any mystery, no matter how difficult or tricky the case looked to be. It was up to him to find the truth because in his mind, only one truth prevails.

So when he encountered his first real crime murder mystery on the flight to New York City, Shinichi desperately wanted to show the skills he has gained over the years and to prove that he has what it takes to belong with the very best. This was a test for him, his first test, to see if he could fulfill his dreams of becoming a real detective. He was not going to fail and make a fool out of himself.

He not only passed but aced this test and uncovered the true method and real murderer, much to the shock of Inspector Megure, who by chance, was also on the flight.

With Inspector Megure's, initially reluctant, approval Shinichi was able to be a part of more and more investigations over time. Solving one case after another, until he was finally recognized as a very vital (but still unofficial) part of Inspector Megure's investigation team.

Dozens of cases, if not more, have passed through him since then, each solved without fail. In short, Kudo Shinichi was definitely making a name for himself around the detective community as one of the best, if not **the** best, young detective of his age. The local papers quickly touted him as the 'Savior of the Police Force' when they catch news of the involvement of a high school student in high profile cases. Over the course of the next year or so, he was quickly becoming (if he was not already) exactly what he aspired to be in his youth. He was quickly gaining fame and praise doing what he really wanted to do, had a perfect crime solve rate and his life looked to be headed in a very promising place.

Even after his run of trouble with two black-clothed men (later to be identified as Gin and Vodka) after solving a rollercoaster murder mystery during an outing with his best friend Mouri Ran, that resulted him into shrinking back to his younger 7-year old self (thanks to a drug later known as APTX-4869) Shinichi – now in his younger form and under his self-created alias of Edogawa Conan did not stop solving mysteries. If anything, this incident caused him to search for even more mysteries and solve them with an unrelenting willpower and vengeance, for he had to uncover more details about those men in black in order to regain his normal body again, someday.

Those men, and by extension, the organization – later known as the Black Organization, put his life on hold. His many dreams, including the dream of becoming the best detective in the world was put on pause due to his status as a little kid since he had to hide his true identity from the public, in fear of the organization turning their attention into silencing him and others around him for good. His reputation as a world-class detective and his life as Shinichi was lost until he could return to his real body. Shinichi, or rather Conan, soon found his new goals in life.

Take down the Black Organization and regain his real body back.

After four long, difficult and extremely complicated years, Edogawa Conan, with the help of the FBI, various police stations in Japan, and most importantly his closest friends that knew he real identity, succeeded in destroying the true evil that was the Black Organization. And soon after, an antidote for APTX-4869 was created and the world forever said farewell to Edogawa Conan and permanently welcomed back Kudo Shinichi.

That was nearly three years ago.

Now at age 24, Kudo Shinichi was back to solving mysteries as himself. He no longer needed to pretend to be Hakase Agasa, Ran's father Korogo or (the worst of the three, in his opinion) Ran's best friend Suzuki Sonoko to relay his deductions of a case anymore. It felt great that the true Great Detective of the East was back in action after so much time away. He was once again solving mystery after mystery like a true great detective.

But there was one mystery which has continued to baffle him, even after hours upon years of continuous thinking and effort in attempting to solve.

As much as Shinichi loves mysteries and solving them, he hates being stumped by them even more. It was so rare when a mystery totally baffles and frustrates him that it seemed improbable that it was even possible.

Yet, this was one. The only one.

It was the mystery that Kudo Shinichi could not solve.

The mystery of Miyano Shiho.

Practically everything about Shiho, formerly known as Haibara Ai, just didn't make sense to him, no matter how long he has known her or how well he thought to have known her. Ever since she appeared in his life nearly 7 years prior, she has left him in states of confusion and unexplained shock that an ace detective like himself could, or rather should, never be in.

As such, he couldn't help but wonder why was Shiho such a mystery to him. He first thought it was something simple like the fact that she was a girl and as a guy, he would be incapable of understanding the mind and oddities in behavior of a girl. But that couldn't be it since the other girls he knew well like Ran, Sonoko and even Ayumi did not leave him in states of confusion nearly much as Shiho found a way to do consistently and with a practiced ease.

When he first met Shiho – then Haibara Ai – in their childhood forms, she was definitely someone that immediately caught his interest, but maybe not in the most flattering of ways. Revealing herself as a high ranking and important, now former, member of the Black Organization, and admitting that she was the creator of the drug that forced him back into his childhood body did not do her any favors in his book. The trick she played on his already panicking mind to suggest that Hakase-Agasa was murdered only irked him further to the point where he almost refused to work with her, her promise of antidote be damned. Throughout that whole night they were together, she was often cold and spoke sarcastically to test his patience. When he didn't outright ignore her, he found himself automatically volleying back some of the same actions and insults right back at her, much to the obvious discomfort of Agasa.

But he would never forget her tear-stricken face and the trembling of her entire body as she tightly clung to his shirt as she mourned the death of her sister that very same night. It was at that moment when he had begun to soften his resolve against her, her beliefs that contradicted his own and her past, as the curious part of his mind practically begged him to find out more about the real girl hiding behind that cold, calculating mask.

Ever since that night, she was able to sneak his way past his initial reservations and mistrust to become someone that he relied on, heavily.

She quickly became someone very important to him. Not only because she was the key to creating an antidote for APTX-4869 someday and had a deep connection to the Black Organization that he was fighting to end, but also because he began to find comfort in her presence around him since she was in the same situation as he; shrunken and hiding under a disguise. She was one of the few people that he could be his true self with and the only person that would really understand his thoughts and frustrations. Her beliefs that he found contradicting to his own at first turn into insights that transform his own beliefs to be less one-dimensional and more unique and understanding to the situation. No longer did he define a crime scene simply by a good and bad side but by the story behind it, and he now understood that the importance of solving a crime was not to showcase his brilliance or heighten his own reputation but to provide even the slightest bit of closure to those that fell victim to the crime itself.

He had learnt so much from her that he hoped that he was able to provide something back to her in return.

She was someone he protected, not because of an offhanded promise between the two like it was at the beginning but because he found that he needed to, for his own comfort in mind.

She became his partner.

Her importance to their cause spoke for itself.

It was because of her ingenious ploys and temporary antidotes that he was able to keep the facade of Edogawa Conan for as long as it took to bring the fall of the Black Organization. It was because of her quick thinking that their side was fortunate enough to escape the final showdown between them and the Black Organization without any major injuries or casualties on their side. It was because of her and her deep connection to the Black Organization that nearly every high ranking member of the Black Organization was either killed in the final fight or was now in a highly secured federal prison. It was because of her expertise and knowledge that she was able to create the antidote that allowed them to return to their real bodies soon after.

He could never deny that without her on their (honestly, his) side none of it would have been possible.

Yet through it all; all the trials and events they went through together, he could never quite understand the mystery behind Shiho Miyano.

There where times when he felt like he was on the verge of finally cracking the case, once and for all, only to be thrown a curveball that left him completely unsure about his whole reasoning through a single action or word by her.

Over the years, he's kept a running list of the biggest mysteries involving her.

It was a mystery to him why she, as Miyano Shiho not Haibara Ai, chose to stay in Beika following the downfall of the Black Organization, the subsequent court hearings and even after the completion of the antidote for APTX-4869. He would have understood why Haibara would have wanted to stay in Beika in her childhood form, but Shiho was now free to do what she wanted. She was no longer forced to do as They commanded her when she was Sherry, nor was she burdened by her past and the crimes she committed that Haibara sought to atone and correct. When he asked her why a couple weeks after they had switched back to their true forms, she just smirked and teasingly asked how he was going to protect her if she left.

It was a mystery to him why she always seemed to have that infuriating smirk on her face whenever she said something usually very sarcastic or embarrassing of him. Of course, whenever he thought of something to wipe that smirk off her face, she would only increase her smirk and reply with a comeback even more hard hitting that the first. There was no winning of any sort with her when they got into a verbal sparing match, he quickly realized. Yet knowing this did not prevent him from trying his luck against her wit almost every time.

It was a mystery to him how she was able to tease and mock him and his, as she calls it, _foolish quirkiness_ , relentlessly for hours (days, really) on end, yet she seems to know what and when to say something when he needs the assurance and comfort the most.

It was a mystery how to him she was able complete his sentences, thoughts and even actions sometimes before he knew what he wanted to say, think or do. Over the past couple of years, he's finds himself doing exactly that to her, much to his amusement when he sees the flash of surprise on her face. They do it so effortlessly now, it quickly became a sort of game between the two of them that was labeled freaky by their friends and family.

It was a mystery to him how she seemed to be the only one that could help him deal with his disappointment and sorrow when Ran finally decided to move on with her life after 3 years of waiting for him to return. He hated the Black Organization for putting his life on hold yet he was basically doing the same to Ran by asking her for to wait for his return. Once he realized this, he knew that letting Ran go was the right decision, especially since the Black Organization was still out there and very dangerous. Accepting his decision, unfortunately, did little to ease the pain he felt when she announced her engagement to some guy from college.

Even after the downfall of the Black Organization and his return to his real body a year later, fate did not seem to want to make things easy on him as he received the invitation to Ran's wedding the moment he returned to the Kudo Mansion. The thought of ruining her wedding with his presence did not cross his mind as he planned on sending his wedding present to her, as well as a letter explaining his absence and wishing her and her husband-to-be the very best. Even though he had given up on his feelings for Ran over the year prior, the fondness in recalling the memories they have shared, the regret of wasted opportunities between them and his past dreams of much more with her prevented him from wanting to attend the actual wedding.

If not for Shiho, who invited herself as his plus-one and dragged him to the wedding to see the beautiful and (most important to him) truly happy face of his previous love interest as she gracefully walked with a surprisingly tearful Kogoro down the aisle to her equally happy and awaiting groom, he wouldn't have been able to finally get the closure he needed to move on with his own life without the idea of Ran as his leading lady.

Even though they didn't end up together like many predicted in the past, she has found true happiness and love, and he knows better than anyone that she undoubtedly deserves it.

He was happy, honest to goodness happy, for her.

Though it was interesting when he caught Ran's eye after the first dance between the newly weds and saw her eyes shift to Shiho, who still had her arm casually looped around his from when they entered the ballroom where the gala was held, only to return her gaze to him. He remembered seeing a myriad of emotions on her face in those mere seconds of eye contact ranging from surprise, happiness, sorrow, understanding and finally back to happiness before she whispered to her husband and led them to where he and Shiho were standing, obviously wanting a proper introduction and conversation before the night's celebration got too busy for the wedded pair. Even though he remembered thinking that the conversation between the four would be, in the very least, somewhat awkward, it turned out to be a great experience for him to finally greet Ran in his real body once and for all, and to finally shake the hand of the guy he knew that would make her happy. The only strange thing to have happened in the whole exchange was when Ran unexpectedly took Shiho in her arms for a tight hug. He saw Ran whisper something into Shiho's ear, to which she could only nod in reply. When Ran let go of Shiho and the married pair left to mingle with the other guest, he saw that Shiho had a slight blush on her face and aimed to avoid his questioning gaze for the rest of the party.

It was a mystery to him that since Ran's wedding, he and Shiho seemed to be even more inseparable. For a long time, he considered himself to be almost like a lone wolf in life. Every since he was 15, he began living by himself and he really didn't have too many close friends outside of Ran and (by extension of Ran, only) Sonoko. The lone wolf aspect to his life was especially true when it came down to exploring crime scene and making deductions. It was not like he did not like working with others (he and Heiji worked very well together – when they weren't competing to outdo each other, that is) but over the years only a few people have proved that they could keep up with him and his sporadic method of exploring and solving crime scenes. Incidentally, one of those people is Shiho and Shinichi soon could not fathom going into a crime scene without her besides him. Coincidentally since they were working together so much on various crimes late into the night at times, Shinichi realized that Shiho seemed to be at his home even more than she was at her real residence, next door at Agasa's. She soon had her own room at the Kudo Mansion, much to the delight of his mother who now had something else to tease him on. He was happy to have her though, since the house was too big for one person and it had been very lonely to be living alone.

Mystery after mystery, Shinichi realizes that he could spend forever and a day going through each and every one of them concerning her.

In fact, the only thing that was not a mystery to him about her was that she was a mystery.

' _Wait – did that even make sense!?'_

Shinichi sighed in frustration, internally admitting that Miyano Shiho was nothing but a complete mystery to him, even after nearly 7 years of knowing her. It was definitely a mystery that he did not think he was going to solve any time soon, if ever.

"Well it's a good thing you love solving mysteries," Shiho whispered in his ear, breaking Shinichi from his frustrating thoughts. Her teasing smirk already on her beautiful face.

Shinichi turned and looked at Shiho with wide eyes and a slight blush on his cheeks, wondering – yet again – how she knew exactly what he was thinking at that moment.

Shiho's smirk only grew but, instead of the usual mischievous glint, her eyes spoke of love and tenderness as she intertwined their hands together, a platinum diamond ring shining brightly on a finger of her left hand.

Shinichi glanced down at their joined hands and grinned.

Maybe this was the one mystery that he wasn't in a hurry to solve anytime soon.

He had forever and a day, anyway.

 **END**

 **A/N:** I kind of jumped around with the timeline of the story so to clear it up, here is the timeline, going by Shinichi's age:

Age 17: Shinichi turns into Conan at Tropical Land, meets Ai a few months later.

Age 20: Ran decides to move on, Shinichi decides to let her go, and Ran announces her engagement several months later.

Age 21: The Black Organization has fallen, Shinichi and Shiho return to their adult forms weeks after. Ran has her wedding.

Age 24: Time of the ending of the story.

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! This is actually the first fanfic I wrote for this fandom, so apologies if its a little rougher than my previous work haha


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